The Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the more surprisingly active teams this offseason, landing bats in guys like Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn to upgrade their piddling offense. However, they’re lacking one true thumper to rally around.
Fansided’s Christopher Kline believes the Pirates should look to Eastern Pennsylvania, and should try to trade for Philadelphia Phillies superstar, Bryce Harper. Harper would immediately start over Spencer Horwitz at first base, and provides the true superstar bat the Pirates need to rally around.
“Pittsburgh was another real threat to sign Schwarber, and there’s no reason not to put similar effort into acquiring Harper, should he become available. The Pirates are finally willing to pour actual financial resources into building a winning team. Bumping Spencer Horwitz to a bench role is easy enough, and Harper would join a lineup that (for now) includes Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn and potentially Konnor Griffin. With Paul Skenes and that pitching staff, the Buccos start to feel like a real contender. That said, it’s fair to question if Philly would truly consider trading Harper in-state, even if Pittsburgh puts the best offer on the table,” Kline wrote.
This past season, Harper slashed .261/.357/.487/.844 with 32 doubles, 27 home runs, and 75 RBI in 132 games played. Combine him with Lowe, O’Hearn, and the young bats set to take off, and the Pirates seem pretty scary.
Harper’s contract would also be pretty feasible for Pittsburgh, as he’s only going to make $23.5-27.5 million per year for the rest of it. The only true problem is convincing the Phillies to trade Harper in-state.
If they can get over that hump, then Pittsburgh needs to find a way to get Harper on their team as quickly as possible, to take advantage of these cheaper years with Paul Skenes.
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